Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Lin Qiongfang Recounts Ten Years of Suffering Persecution

Name: Lin Qiongfang
Gender: Female
Age: 55
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Longquanyi Women's Prison in Chengdu
City: Guangyuan
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, sleep deprivation, beatings, imprisonment, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

The following is Ms. Lin Qiongfang's account of her experiences over the last ten years:

My name is Lin Qiongfang. I am 55 years old and from a village in Sichuan Province. I previously had serious insomnia and other illnesses. I was weak and had a bad temper. I started practising Falun Gong in 1997 and my physical health has since improved. All my illnesses disappeared and I had more energy. I followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and became a truly good person.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. I have been detained several times and imprisoned twice because of my belief. The following is my experience.

Detained Several Times and Sentenced to One Year of Forced Labour for Appealing for Justice

I went to Beijing the first time to appeal for justice for Falun Gong on December 26th, 2000, but the State Petition Bureau would not receive us. On the evening of December 31st, 2000, practitioners and I went to Tiananmen Square to speak with people about Falun Gong. The police officers were everywhere and they were constantly taking away Falun Gong practitioners. We wore thin clothes and people could tell that we were from the southern region. The officers rushed over and seized us as soon as they saw us. I was taken to the Beijing Police Station and detained there for more than three weeks. I was later transferred to the Sichuan Province Office in Beijing and detained there for another eight days. We were taken back to our hometown in handcuffs by local government officers. I was detained for another 15 days and was beaten, brainwashed, and fined.

I went to Beijing for the second time in December 2001. I stayed with other practitioners in a rented apartment in the Yanjiao District, which was about 90 li from Beijing. The police tried to prevent practitioners from going to Beijing and they dispatched a lot of plainclothes police officers at different stations and wharves. The passengers had to swear at Falun Gong in order to get on a bus or boat. This way the police could distinguish practitioners from others. I was arrested. There were too many practitioners being arrested and there was no more room in the prison. They drove us to Yanji County, which is far away from Beijing, and kicked us off the bus. Two other practitioners and I went back to Tiananmen Square the next day. I was seized again and taken to the Chaoyang Police Station.

Chaoyang Police Station is the biggest detention centre in the area, and it can hold more than one thousand people. There was a young female practitioner who was from Henan Province. The guards took her to the office and took off all her clothes. The guard yelled at her, "If you don't talk, we'll throw you into the male inmates' cell!" Another practitioner was interrogated nine times and beaten seven times. The guards not only beat him with batons but also knocked him against the wall, and he was bruised all over. Another practitioner was on a hunger strike and the guards ordered some inmates to force-feed him. The guards encouraged the inmates to torture us and they would watch it through the monitoring device.

One day, about eight people started to interrogate me. Every four people formed a group and they took turns. They tortured me and didn't let me sleep. I told them where I came from when I was drowsy. Two days later, two government officers from my hometown came. They handcuffed me and took me back to my hometown. The officers broke into my home and ransacked it before I was released.

I was taken to the local detention centre. One day, I saw the guards beat Ms. Zheng Jing and force her to run in the yard in heavy chains. She would be kicked or beaten if she stopped. She was tortured the whole day. Another practitioner, Ms. Su Qunhua, was tied to a column in the yard. One guard brought in a dog and ordered it to attack her. Ms. Su told the dog, "Don't attack me!" The dog left her alone but instead chewed through the rope.

Several months later more than 30 practitioners, including myself and several in their 70s, were taken to the Garden Square for a public trial. In May 2002 I was sentenced to one year of forced labour and was transferred to the Nanmusi Forced Labour Camp in Zizhong County. The guards ordered practitioners to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] write the three statements to renounce practising Falun Gong, and do hard labour. My term was extended for another six months without a reason. When my term was up, the town government sent someone to come get me and asked me for 500 yuan¹ for petrol. I said, "I'm not against the law, but I was detained and forced to do hard labour. Now you ask me for money! Which law is that?!" They threatened me, "We could give you additional time in the camp if you do not give us any money." I asked, "For what?" In the end the guards extorted 200 yuan from my mom.

I was back at home and the police wouldn't stop harassing me. They often came in the middle of the night, and I refused to open the door. I said, "I'm home. Can't you hear me?" They broke into my home and searched everywhere. They were trying to find "evidence." Four other practitioners and I were forced to attend one of their meetings before the 2003 Chinese New Year. Each of us had to spend 100 yuan for that.

Sentenced to Six Years of Prison for Putting Up Falun Gong Information

Another practitioner and I went out to put up Falun Gong information in February 2003. We were picked up by several officers and taken to the local police office. When we got there, an officer took one damp towel and put it through the gap of my handcuff. He twisted the towel around several turns, twisting my arms along with it. He then threw me to the ground and the handcuff cut into my skin. The police kept interrogating me for seven days and took me to a local prison. I was sentenced to six years of prison several days later.

I was sent to Longquanyi Women's Prison in Chengdu three months later. Falun Gong practitioners have been severely persecuted in this prison with about 70 percent of the detainees being practitioners. The guards ordered the inmates to hide or take away the practitioner's clothes if she refused to wear the prison uniform. They left only the prison uniform. They put me and one monitoring person in a special cell for a "strict control" situation. They often punished those who didn't follow the prison rules. One had to stand facing the wall, both arms outstretched with hands on the wall and face touching the wall. They beat you in public to warn others.

Mental Torture

The physical torture was bad enough, but the mental torture was even worse. They normally do this in the following ways:

-Interrogation and Torture

You were interrogated and tortured at the same time. They could do it at any time. Several guards took turns and you were under extreme pressure for a long time. One practitioner was beaten during the interrogation. She wasn't allowed to sleep for ten days after the beating.

-Brainwashing

Brainwashing is one of the primary tools used to "transform" practitioners, or, in other words, to force them to renounce their faith in the teachings of Falun Gong. They employed all kinds of lies to deceive you. They read you books you didn't want to hear.

-"Heart-to-Heart Talks"

They sometimes would have a "heart-to-heart talk" with you. They don't mention whether or not you are right. They just engage in small talk initially. To "transform" you is their true intention.

-Witnessing the Persecution of Others

The prison buildings shook during the big earthquake on May 12th, 2008. Ms. He Yemei shouted, "Falun Gong is great! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great!" The guards took her to a locked room and beat her. They stuffed socks in her mouth to silence her. They covered her with a blanket after a good beating and carried her to another room for solitary confinement.

One practitioner, Ms. He Tianxiu, also shouted "Falun Gong is great! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great!" An inmate reported this to the guard and the guard encouraged her to beat Ms. He. I told her, "Stop hitting her, as evil deeds brings retribution!" The inmate fell down in less than two minutes and was quickly taken to the clinic.

One practitioner was from Leshan City. She was forced to have an induced abortion. She became disabled as a result of severe beating. Her husband, a practitioner, was persecuted to death.

Practitioner Ms. Zhang Fengqun tore up a poster showing the "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation," which was staged by the CCP. The guards tied her up and pulled her along on the ground. She went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards knocked out her teeth in order to force-feed her.

I saw so many things like that during my days in prison. My term was up on March 18th, 2009. Even though I was released, the CCP is still monitoring me.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/10/7/230673.html